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Inspired by a visit to ORNL’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, Jonaaron Jones launched a career in additive manufacturing that led to founding Volunteer Aerospace and now leading Beehive Industries’ external parts business. Through close collaboration with MDF, Jones has helped drive innovation in defense, aviation and energy, while growing high-tech jobs and strengthening the U.S. manufacturing base.

Robert “Bob” Hettich, an ORNL Corporate Fellow, is a pioneer in using mass spectrometry to uncover how microbes interact within complex environments and influence larger systems like plants and humans. A founder of the field of metaproteomics, he leads research that supports bioenergy, environmental resilience and health through advanced protein analysis.

ORNL researchers helped introduce college students to quantum computing for the first time during the 2025 Winter Classic Invitational, providing hands-on access to real quantum hardware and training future high-performance computing users through a unique challenge that bridged classical and quantum technologies.

Researchers from ORNL have developed a new application to increase efficiency in memory systems for high performance computing. Rather than allow data to bog down traditional memory systems in supercomputers and impact performance, the team from ORNL, along with researchers from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, created a framework to manage data more efficiently with memory systems that employ more complex structures. 

Researchers at Georgia State University used the Summit supercomputer to study an elaborate molecular pathway called nucleotide excision repair. Decoding NER’s sophisticated sequence of events and the role of PInC in the pathway could provide key insights into developing novel treatments and preventing conditions that lead to premature aging and certain types of cancer.

During his first visit to 91����, Energy Secretary Chris Wright compared the urgency of the Lab’s World War II beginnings to today’s global race to lead in artificial intelligence, calling for a “Manhattan Project 2.”

A workshop led by scientists at ORNL sketched a road map toward a longtime goal: development of autonomous, or self-driving, next-generation research laboratories. 

Neus Domingo Marimon, leader of the Functional Atomic Force Microscopy group at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences of ORNL, has been elevated to senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

P&G is using simulations on the ORNL Summit supercomputer to study how surfactants in cleaners cause eye irritation. By modeling the corneal epithelium, P&G aims to develop safer, concentrated cleaning products that meet performance and safety standards while supporting sustainability goals.

A research partnership between two Department of Energy national laboratories has accelerated inspection of additively manufactured nuclear components, and the effort is now expanding to inspect nuclear fuels.